Republic in peril report - Delhi Violence report

A Report on
Recent Assaults on Journalists in Delhi
Republic
In Peril
Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ)
www.caajindia.org
committeeagainstassault@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/caajindia
https://twitter.com/caajindia

Contents
• Introduction
• Summary
• Not a Co-incidence: December 2019
 Chronology of events from Jamia to Lutyen's Delhi
 First phase of assaults on Journalists
• Outsourcing Violence: January 2020
 Chronology of events from JNU to Rajghat
 Second phase of assaults on Journalists
• The Experiment: February 2020
 Chronology of events across Delhi
 Third phase of assaults on Journalists
• Analysis and Conclusion
• Annexure
 CAAJ Statement: Assault on Media in anti-CAA protests, December 2019
 List of assault cases nationwide in December, 2019
 About CAAJ

Introduction
Speaking at the Press Club of India in 2017, eminent jurist Fali S. Nariman quoted a judge who
said, “Today the basic question is not of freedom of speech rather freedom after speech. No
one is stopping you from speaking the truth but as soon as you express your mind there is no
guarantee of your life”.
Much water has flown into Yamuna during last three years. The post-speech peril that Nariman
had outlined then has now become a pre-speech phenomenon. Scribes based in Delhi would
ratify this who have covered the Capital city in last few months.
The recent spate of assaults on journalists in Delhi points toward a sharp change of paradigm in
the context of Right to Freedom of Expression and Speech. Now a journalist covering an
event/incident on ground is being apprehended by his/her banner/brand and reacted upon
much before he/she speaks (truth or whatever).
Not only this, journalists on ground are directed and forced to speak and write the version of
truth that his/her intimidator wants to get through. If it does not suit their version, journalists
are attacked, molested, ashamed publicly.
The recent case of assault on journalists in National Capital Territory of Delhi bears phenomenal
change in two fundamental dimensions: the nature of assault and the identity of assaulter. This
could be seen in the chronology of events as well as in the details of assaulted journalists on
upcoming pages.
This report by Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ) is an attempt to understand this
change. The emerging trends in repression of speech need to be decoded simultaneously with
the unfolding of socio-political developments because journalists do not operate in silos.
The timeline of this report starts with the last month of 2019 when Citizenship Amendment Act
(CAA) was passed by the parliament of India that instantly attracted criticisms and protests all
over the country that continue till date. The major turning points in this protest, specifically in
terms of Delhi, were the incidents of Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU. The process finally erupted
as a systemic violence that lasted for more than 48 hours in Delhi in the last week of February
2020.
This report is aligned according to the same timeline. There have been three phases of assaults
on Journalists in Delhi i.e. in December 2019 and in January-February 2020.

The structure of this report is comparative: one could relive major socio-political developments
month-wise and simultaneously track the assault cases. This helps in placing and decoding the
assault on Press in the contextual framework of larger socio-political developments.
Once you go through the events and assault list, it would be easier to correlate both and grasp
the trends analysed in the concluding chapter, form a 360 degree understanding of the issue
and apply it to the larger context of the definition of a Republic resting on Four Estates, of
which Press is the fourth one.
CAAJ had also documented cases of assault on journalists nationwide after anti-CAA protests
erupted. For reference, it could be seen in the Annexure. The present report is an extension to
it.
This report is compiled from facts first-hand reported on social media by affected journalists
and secondary reports published online and offline.
The basic idea behind this report is to understand the issue of assault on journalists in the
larger context of terms like Republic, Democracy and Constitutional Estates.
We are hopeful that this report achieves its goal.

Summary
Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ) has prepared a report titled "Republic In Peril"
on recent cases of Assaults on Journalists in Delhi covering three months from December 2019
to February 2020. This report documents a total of 32 cases of various types of Assaults on
Journalists covering socio-political developments in the capital city of India after the eruption of
anti-CAA protests.
The report outlines three phases of assault in Delhi.
First in December, 2019 that started after anti-CAA protests erupted with centrestage being
Jamia Millia Islamia University. A total of seven cases have been documented where Journalists
who went to cover Jamia were assaulted physically. These assaulted journalists included
mainstream news channels, agency, international media BBC and digital platforms. The
assaulters included mob and police.
This first phase lasted for five days from December 15 to December 20, 2019 although assaults
continued nationwide for the whole month till the end of 2019. These 16 cases of nationwide
assault in journalists covering anti-CAA protests were documented and released by CAAJ (see
Annexure).
The second phase of attack lasted much longer, almost for the whole month of January, 2020.
On January 5, 2020 journalists were targeted outside Jawaharlal Nehru University campus,
which was attacked on the same evening by a veiled mob. The number of cases reported in
various media outlets and first-hand cases reported on twitter count to half a dozen. Those
assaulted were also specifically targeted, stopped from coverage and directed/intimated by the
mob.
This phase reached its peak on the last day of January, 2020 when journalists were hounded,
beaten up and detained at ITO and Rajghat. The numbers included more than ten, many of
them senior scribes who were there to report Satyagraha March and pay homage to Mahatma
Gandhi on his death anniversary. More than half a dozen journalists were detained until dark in
a local stadium. Delhi Police was solely responsible for this assault. Press Club of India released
a condemnation statement on the same day.
The third phase is a dark chapter of horror in the history of Freedom of Press in Delhi that
reminded many of the Emergency days. Around 18 cases were reported where journalists were
not only stopped from coverage, but identified as Hindu/Muslims, ashamed publicly and beaten
up by the rioting mob. There camera, equipment broken and vehicles burnt up by the mob.
Many cases have gone unreported due to horror.

Mainstream media journalists from almost each and every banner recounted their ordeal on
social media. Almost each and every media rights organisation condemned the assaults and
raised question on the complicity of police forces in not containing the ravaging mob.
The report observes these three phases in continuity. The first spate of attacks by the state and
non-state actors was a testing ground that builds up into a full-fledged consolidated attack on
Press during Delhi violence in the last week of February.
The frequency speaks a lot. The first phase lasted for about a week, second phase stretched up
for the whole month but cases were almost same in number counting up to a maximum of ten.
The last phase was not only horrible in terms of numbers and frequency but intensity too.
Within a matter of two days when violence spread in North-East Delhi, around 18 assault cases
took place that makes ten cases per day an average.
Not only this, the nature of assault was also unprecedented. A Journalist was directly shot at,
one was forced to drop pants and another was forced to chant religious hymns. Religious
identification was the bottom-line during third phase of assault.

Not a Co-Incidence
December 2019

Chronology of events from Jamia to Lutyen's
Delhi
December 10: CAA passed in Loksabha
December 11: CAA passed in Rajyasabha
December 12: Signed by President
December 13: Students of Jamia Millia Islamia University march to the Parliament protesting
CAA. Fifty students detained after clash.
December 15: More than two thousand students of Jamia joined the protests against CAA. At
6:46 pm, hundreds of police officers forcefully entered the campus of Jamia, without the
permission of college authority. The police used batons and tear gas on the protesting students.
Nearly a hundred students were detained by the Delhi police and released at 3:30 am next
morning. The university shut until 5 January 2020 and the residents asked to leave the campus.
December 17: Seelampur area had stone-throwing crowds face off against the police. The
police retaliated with tear gas and batons, in which, according to local reports, several
protesters and officers were injured. There were also reports of a police station being set on
fire.
December 19: Administrative authorities imposed a ban against public gatherings in parts of
Delhi. 20 metro stations were closed to prevent the movement for protests. At least 700 flights
were delayed and more than 20 cancelled due to traffic jams caused by police closing the roads
to stifle protests. Protest meetings were held defying the ban in Red Fort and Mandi House.
Access to the mobile internet was restricted in certain places in Delhi.
December 20: Two Delhi Metro stations - Jamia Millia Islamia and Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh
were closed. In the evening a car was torched in Daryaganj after which the police attacked the
protesters with water cannons and lathi charge.
December 21: Journalists across the country protest against the police brutality on the
journalists covering the Anti-CAA protests especially in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and
Karnataka.
December 23: Protests held at multiple locations. 93 other students protesting outside Assam
Bhawan and demanding the release of RTI activist Akhil Gogoi were detained by the police.

December 24: Police imposed a ban on gatherings in central Delhi's Mandi House near the
Lutyens' Zone to prevent the protest march of students from multiple universities. The anti
CAA-NRC protest march was to start from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar.
December 27: Delhi Police used Facial recognition software by recording a video of the
protester and checking it with the database of criminals maintained by them.

First phase of Assaults on Journalists
1.
Name: Shaheen Abdulla,
Media House: Maktoob Media
Place and Date: Delhi, 15th December, 2019
On December 15th, journalist Shaheen Abdulla, Associate Creative Editor of Maktoob, an
English digital news platform based in New Delhi, was attacked outside the Jamia Millia Islamia
campus by Delhi Police. The cops beat the journalist with lathis as he was reporting the people’s
massive protest against India’s recent Citizenship Amendment Act. He was mercilessly beaten
up by a group of ten cops. Later, Shaheen was taken to Holy Family hospital, New Delhi.
"I was covering it for Maktoob Media, one of the organizations which I work for. I was updating
the news from there. And I was with the press delegation. We were all together there. When I
saw them trapped (the female students of Jamia Millia Islamia), I rushed towards them. I knew
them personally. I tried to help them to move to a safe place. When the cops came running, I
showed them my press card and told them that I am a journalist. 'Don't beat me up; I am not
here for any kind of violence. I am just trying to help them for medical attention’. But they
started tapping me with their lathis on my legs. While I tried explaining them with the ID in my
hand, they kept beating me. Then we went to a safe place, cops came in a group and they were
like 'now you come out'. They tried to induce me to follow their instruction. The girls protected
me by shielding around. When girls started to come in-front, cops started to come inside. And
somehow they (cops) got a hand on me and they pulled me outside," Shaheen said in a special
interview with NDTV on December 16.
2.
Name: Bushra Sheikh
Media House: BBC

Bushra Sheikh, a journalist with the BBC said as she was covering the students’ protest in South
Delhi, a male cop pulled her hair, hurled abuses and hit her with a baton. I came here for BBC's
coverage. The police took away my phone and broke it. A male cop pulled my hair. They hit me
with a baton and when I asked them for my phone, they hurled abuses at me .
Terming the assault as undemocratic, Indian Women’s Press Corp (IWPC) said, “We note with
concern and distress that this has now become a pattern to attack journalists particularly
women journalists to intimidate them.
3.
Name: Shariq Adeel Yousuf
Media House: Pal Pal News
Shariq Adeel Yousuf, a reporter with the YouTube channel Pal Pal News said first he took the
permission from the police to go inside the protest site at Jamia Millia University where several
other journalists were covering the protest. “After 20 minutes when I came back outside, at a
certain point few police men started abusing me and asking for my phone. When I refused they
started brutally beating on my hand by laathi. Then they broke my phone by their boots and
took my press card.”
4.
Name: Ujjwal Roy and Sarabjeet Singh
Media House: ANI (Asian News International)
Asian News International’s (ANI) reporter Ujjwal Roy and cameraperson Sarabjeet Singh were
assaulted while covering protests near Jamia Millia Islamia University’s Gate-1 on December 16
in New Delhi. They are undergoing treatment at Holy Family hospital in Okhla.
5.
Name: Jaideep, cameraman

Media House: Zee News
Place and Date: Delhi, 16 December, 2019
In a statement Press Association of India said, an attempt was made to allegedly manhandle a
video journalist of Zee News, Jaideep, camera of a news channel was damaged while another's
was taken but not returned as yet.
6.
Name: Dinesh R and Wasim Sayeed
Media House: Asianet News
Two journalists – Dinesh R and Wasim Sayeed of Asianet News, a prominent Malayalam news
channel – were also attacked in the national capital during the coverage of the protests by
Jamia Milia Islamia students against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Wasim Sayeed, video
journalist, and Dinesh R, reporter, were injured. Mr. Wasim Sayeed was seriously injured in
stone-throwing and admitted to hospital.
7.
Name Reporter Arun Shankar and Cameraman Vaishakh Jayapalan
Media House: Mathrubhumi News
News reporter Arun Shankar and Cameraman Vaishakh Jayapalan with Mathrubhumi News
were brutally attacked by the Delhi Police while they were covering the protest. Both journalists
sustained injuries in the attack and have been taken to a hospital. The journalists were covering
the massive anti-CAA stir at Delhi Gate in the national capital. While they were capturing the
police brutally beating up the protesters. At that time, several policemen attacked the
Mathrubhumi News crew from behind.
Enraged that the journalists were capturing the visuals of their brutal attack on helpless
protesters, the police officers forcibly took away the video camera and destroyed it. Despite

sustaining injuries to his head, Vaishakh Jayapalan continued to capture the visuals of the police
brutality which was aired by Mathrubhumi News.
Kerala Press Club in Delhi condemned the alleged manhandling of journalists by the police at
the Delhi Gate during the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Friday evening. In
a statement, the association said that the camera was snatched by police because of the visuals
that were captured in it. “It was done with the sole purpose of suppressing the truth.”

OUTSOURCING VIOLENCE
JANUARY 2020

Chronology of events from JNU to Rajghat
January 5: A masked mob armed with rods and sticks attacked the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru
University. Hindu Raksha Dal, or the Hindu Defense League, a right-wing group, claimed
responsibility for the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University students.
January 6: During a panel discussion on the Times Now, ABVP Delhi joint secretary Anima
Sonkar accepted that ABVP members were armed.
January 9: Around 1,000 JNU students and teachers held a protest march to the HRD Ministry
office in Delhi demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor. The protesters were stopped
by police who chased them and struck them with batons. Several students were detained and
later released.
January 10: India Today aired a sting operation on the JNU attack. Two first-year students,
named Akshat Awasthi and Rohit Shah, seemed to have confessed to leading the attack on the
Periyar hostel. Awasthi confessed to carrying a rod in his hand, wearing a helmet, and
channeling and mobilising the attack with the help of students who were members of ABVP, as
well as members from outside the campus. He also confessed to calling an organisational
secretary of ABVP to organise the outside support. The aired videos also raised questions over
the involvement of the administration and the police in the attack. The reporter asked Awasthi,
"Who had shut down the light?", and on reply he said, "Admin.....I think police". The reporter
further asked him, "So the police helped the ABVP?" In reply he said, "Whose police is it, sir?".
He claimed that police were also present inside the campus and a DCP (Deputy Superintendent)
of Delhi police asked them to "hit [students]". He also claimed to have been committing acts of
violence inside the campus for the last six months.
January 11: Police claimed they had identified 37 out of a total of 60 members of the WhatsApp
group that included 10 outsiders, named 'Unity against Left'.
January 15: Delhi police confirmed the identification of the masked woman as a member of
ABVP and a student of Daulat Ram College in Delhi University.
January 30: An armed man was detained after he brandished a pistol at Jamia Millia Islamia
students demonstrating against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The man was overpowered
by protesters. A student appeared to have been injured in the incident, which led to panic in
the Jamia area.

January 31: A human chain was organised by citizens on Mahatma Gandhi's martyrdom day
when Delhi Police swooped down on political leaders, activists, journalists in the Raj Ghat-Red
Fort- Daryaganj area of Delhi, detained them and locked them up in a stadium until late
evening.

Second phase of Assaults on Journalists
1.
Name: Rohan Venkataramakrishnan
Media House: Scroll.in
Place and Date: Delhi, January 5, 2020
Rohan was recording a video of the sloganeering right-wing activists at the JNU main gate when
he was surrounded, called a “Naxalwadi”, shoved around and hit on the head. Karnika Kohli of
Scroll.in reported that a group armed with bats and sticks was stationed near the main gate.
She overheard one of the members of the group say: “Beat up NDTV guys if you see them.”
2.
Name: Ashutosh Mishra and Crew
Media House: Aaj Tak and India Today
“The moment I questioned Law and Order in JNU, mob in presence of police in dark attacked
me and my cameraman, broke my mike, hurled abuses, called me Jihadis, Naxali,” tweeted the
reporter Ashutosh Mishra. “I asked a cop why are they silent, their reply – why did u go there?”
3.
Name: Sidharth Ravi
Media House: The Hindu
Reporter of The Hindu claimed that a group of people, some of whom were masked, heckled
him and asked him to leave. “A group of people, including masked men in support of ABVP,

gathered around me and told me to leave the area after being identified as a journalist from
The Hindu,” tweeted Sidharth Ravi. “Fled to avoid trouble.”
4.
Name: Ayush Tiwari
Media House: Newslaundry
Ayush Tiwari who reports for NewsLaundry said that he was confronted by few people outside
the campus. “Some of the men asked us to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’,” Ayush said. However, he
said that some of the men among the mob did ask others to leave the press person. “We could
not carry journalism in such a chaotic situation,” Ayush concluded.
5.
Name: Jitendra Sharma and Neeraj Gaur
Zee News team was heckled and assaulted by the protesters from Jamia area of Delhi. Zee
News senior reporter Jitendra Sharma and his associate Neeraj Gaur had arrived at Sukhdev
Vihar metro station in Delhi to cover the ongoing anti-CAA protests along with cameraperson
Qamar Khan when they were attacked by the rioters.
6.
Name: Several Journalists detained including Rajesh Kumar and Parthiv Kumar, Shivesh Garg,
Arvind Singh, Sanjay Jha, SK Pandey
Media House: Ex-UNI, Navjyoti, Mediavigil, Telegraph, DUJ

Press Club of India in a condemnation statement said, "From the first reports we have, Rajesh
Kumar, Shivesh Garg and a clutch of other journalists were forcibly taken away to an unknown
destination- probably a distant detention centre or police station. We have no further
information," it added. Other journalists were violently attacked by police, among them
photographer Sanjay K. Jha of The Telegraph, and S. K. Pande, a senior journalist and leader of
the Delhi Union of Journalists, the PCI said.
7.
Name: Basant Kumar
Media House: Newslaundry
Basant Kumar was detained at ITO who was covering the Satyagraha event organized by
Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.

Chronology of events across Delhi
February 1: Another gunman opened fire at the Shaheen Bagh protest site.
February 2: Unidentified gunmen riding a scooter opened fire outside Gate number 5 of Jamia
Millia University.
February 7: Supreme Court defers Shaheen Bagh plea for February 10.
February 10: Supreme Court said protesters at Shaheen Bagh cannot block public road and
create inconvenience for others. Saying it will not pass any direction on protest without hearing
other side, the SC lists matter for Feb 17.
February 17: SC asked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran to
talk to Shaheen Bagh protestors and persuade them to move to an alternative site where no
public place is blocked. Matter posted for next hearing on February 24.
February 20: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar ‘Ravan’ visited northeast Delhi and addressed
the locals asking them to observe his call for a Bharat Bandh on February 23.
February 22: A group, largely comprising women, sat down to protest peacefully against the
Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) under the Jaffrabad Metro Station, occupying one of the
carriageways under the raised metro line.
February 23: A rally organized in nearby Maujpur, led by Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader Kapil Mishra, who demanded that anti-CAA protesters in Chand Bagh and Jaffrabad be
removed within three days. If they weren’t, he warned his people wouldn’t listen even to the
police. Soon after, stone pelting began in the area, and, by the evening, groups opposing and
supporting the CAA were squaring off.
February 24: Maujpur erupted in violence, with large-scale stone pelting, and members of two
communities blaming each other for the wave of violence.Various news media reported how
communities fought pitched battles through the day. Later that night, in neighbouring
Gokalpuri, a tyre market with predominantly Muslim businesses was set ablaze. Meanwhile,
Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana
Ramachandran handed over a report of their four-day endeavour to coax Shaheen Bagh
protesters to shift their agitation. SC adjourned the matter for February 26.
February 25: The situation spiralled out of control. Violence spread to an even wider area on
either side of the Jaffrabad main road. Maujpur, Chand Bagh, Kardampuri, Bhajanpura,

Gokalpuri, Khajuri Khas, Yamuna Vihar and Brijpuri, all of them close neighbourhoods, got
engulfed in the conflagration.
February 26: Reports started emerging of marauding mobs stopping vehicles and asking people
their religious identity. Depending on the answers, members of one community were spared
while members of the other were thrashed, their papers looted and vehicles damaged. There
were many instances of journalists being attacked specifically, both on 25th and 26th. There
were also numerous instances of mobs snatching phones from journalists to delete
incriminating photographs and videos. Delhi police also issued a shoot-at-sight order to try and
end the violence. Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi Police over their handling of the ongoing
clashes in the capital while deferring to March 23 hearing on a plea to shift the Shaheen Bagh
protesters.
February 26: At midnight on 26 February, the court bench consisting of Justices S. Muralidhar
and Talwant Singh, heard the plea to provide the safe passage to the riot victims to reach their
nearest government or private hospitals. Following this, the court ordered the police to
safeguard and help all victims to reach their nearest hospitals. The bench also directed the
police to submit a report of compliance that would include information about the injured
victims and the treatments offered to them. The same was to be placed before the court for the
following hearing date. On the late night of 26 February, Justice S. Muralidhar who presided
over the plea hearing, was transferred to Punjab and Haryana High Court.
February 27: Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) conducted flag marches through many of
the affected neighbourhoods. The High Court resumed the hearing with a new bench consisting
of the Chief justice, D.N. Patel and justice C. Hari Shankar. During the previous hearing, the
Delhi police was given 24 hours to decide on the filing of FIRs over hate speeches by four BJP
leaders. The government's lawyer claimed that the situation was not "conducive" and that the
government needed more time before it could take appropriate action. The new bench
accepted the same arguments that the previous bench had rejected. The new bench agreed to
give the government more time to decide on filing of the cases for hate speech. NSA Ajit Doval
visited affected neighbourhoods.
February 28: Death toll crossed 40. Two SIT's formed to probe violence, 630 people arrested
and 148 FIRs lodged. High Court issued notices to Delhi and central governments seeking their
responses on registering FIRs on Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and
Priyanka Gandhi on the charges of delivering hate speeches. Hearing another plea, the bench
also issued notice to Delhi police and central government for their response on registering FIR
on AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, actress Swara Bhaskar, radio jockey Sayema Rahman, activist
Harsh Mander and on AIMIM leaders like Akbaruddin Owaisi, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Waris
Pathan. The court later posted the matter to be heard again on 13 April.

Third phase of Assaults on Journalists
1.
Name: Akash Napa
Media House: JK 24
Place and Date: Delhi, February 24, 2020
He was shot by a mob while he was reporting from Maujpur. He was admitted to the GTB
Hospital. "The bullet is stuck inside and the doctors have said operating is risky,” his brother
told Newslaundry. “He has been shifted to a ward and they are doing some tests.”
2.
Name: Saurabh Shukla and Arvind Gunasekar
Media House: NDTV
They were rounded up by a group of “CAA supporters” and beaten up badly. The mob circled
Gunasekar and hit him in the face, according to NDTV. “A lathi was about to be brought down
on his head when his colleague, Saurabh Shukla, intervened.” The lathi hit Saurabh instead. “He
was also punched in the back and the stomach and hit on his leg… Arvind lost three teeth in the
attack.”
Saurabh said the attack happened when they were shooting a religious place being vandalised
and burnt at Gokulpuri. “I was just behind Arvind, 20-30 metres behind him. When we stopped
recording, one protester, or one rioter for that matter, he spotted Arvind. They grabbed Arvind
and started beating him up. I saw Arvind was lying on the floor. He was bleeding. I came for his
rescue,” he said. “They were about to hit Arvind with a stick on his head. I intervened, and so
that stick landed on my shoulder.”
Saurabh said the mob punched him and dragged him away from Arvind because they thought
Arvind alone was filming. “Later, I did not show them my NDTV ID. I had a Foreign
Correspondents’ Club card. I had shown them that and told them that I was not reporting for
any Indian television; I was from some foreign agency,” he said. “They kept telling us, get Arvind

to delete everything from his phone. And later, they did stop beating us up because they saw
my name and said, ‘You’re from our own community. You should not be doing this. You should
not be filming this.’”
Speaking to Newslaundry, Arvind recounted, “We saw a mob attacking a building *a Muslim
shrine] at Meet Nagar, and we went there to shoot it. The group vandalising the building
surrounded us. They started bashing me. They were shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans. I was
wearing a black shirt and they might have thought I was Muslim.”
Saurabh told the mob they were both Hindu, Arvind added. “By then, one snatched my phone.
They demanded I delete the videos. When one said I had shot videos, they attacked us more.
They let us go only after they deleted all the videos.”
3.
Name: Runjhun Sharma
Media House: CNN News18
She was with Saurabh and Arvind on Tuesday. She stayed with them when the mob attacked.
She was heckled by rioters in the affected area of north-east Delhi.
“They beat him up,” she told CNN News18, referring to Arvind. “His mouth was bleeding…Even
Saurabh was heckled by these men. He was beaten up. I was surrounded by these men. They
kept asking us for our religious credentials…We had to fold our hands in front of them. We had
to plead for several minutes to let us go.”
4.
Name: Ismat Ara
Media House: Freelance journalist
Ara, writing in Firstpost, recounted her terrifying experience reporting at Maujpur on Tuesday.
She saw a Hindu priest instructing a group of men “to beat Muslims as an order had come from
the top”. When she inquired about the priest, the group became suspicious of her, and asked

for her identity. She’d to fake her religious background, hide her press card and dodge the
question with a cooked-up answer.
But later, as Ara went inside one of the lanes, she was followed by some of the men from the
group. She was stopped and asked, "Media se ho toh bolo na. Jhoot bolke humare pundit jee ke
baare me kyun pooch rahi ho?” Tell us if you are from the media. Why are you lying and asking
about our priest?
A verbal spat ensued.
She was stopped a few more times by different men from the same group. “Those who had
blocked the roads were carrying bricks, bats, lathis, sticks, rods, and axes,” she wrote. “On the
roads of Maujpur, with no police or CRPF around and a charged-up mob, I was scared they
would catch and harass me for being a journalist, molest me for being a girl, and lynch me for
being a Muslim if they found out my identity.”
5.
Name: Shivnarayan Rajpurohit
Media House: Indian Express
He was confronted by a mob at West Karawal Nagar on Monday. The mob assaulted him,
snatched his phone and smashed his spectacles. His diary was taken away and thrown into a
burning heap of bakery items. At different points, he was followed and surrounded by three
different mobs.
“A man, seemingly in his 50s, removed my spectacles, stepped on them and slapped me twice
for ‘reporting from a Hindu-dominated area’,” he wrote in the newspaper. “They checked my
press card. ‘Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, hmm. Hindu ho? Bach gaye.’ Not satisfied, they wanted
more proof whether I was a real Hindu. ‘Bolo Jai Shri Ram’. I was silent.”
Then, another group of people came after him. “They ordered me to run for my life. ‘Ek aur
bheed aa rahi hai aapke liye (Another crowd is coming for you),’ one of them said. Shaking, I
scampered to my bike. I rummaged my bag for the bike key. Every minute was precious. ‘Jaldi
karo. Wo log chodenge nahi,’ said one of the men from the crowd. Finally, I found the key, and
blindly set off through unknown lanes to the safety of Pushta Road,” he wrote.

6.
Name: Vijayta Lalwani
Media House: Scroll.in
In an article for Scroll, she described how a group of men stood chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and
“Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. They warned journalists not to take photos or videos. Some in the mob
even threatened to target the reporters.
7.
Name: Tanushree Pandey
Media House: India Today
She was threatened and harassed by a mob in the Maujpur area on Monday.
This is a riot! Protesters from both sides heckling & thrashing media persons. I was told
"Camera band karle warna gaad denge yahin pe". All this while 10 men were holding me tightly
from my waist & shoulders. Have never felt so scared! Camera person was pushed badly with
lathis
8.
Name: Parvina Purkayastha
Media House: Times Now
Parvina was abused by a group of CAA supporters near the Maujpur metro station. She told the
Print, “I was reporting from Maujpur metro station. I was reporting from a safe corner, and I
was not alone. I could see pro and anti-CAA protesters clashing…Suddenly, a group of pro-CAA
protestors singled me out. A group of five to six men came with wooden sticks and said
maarenge. I had to sit there and plead with them to not beat me and let me go.”

8.
Name: Sreya Chatterjee
Media House: News X
Chatterjee said that she was with a group of reporters that was stopped from reporting at
Maujpur. She told the Print that a mob supporting the citizenship law threatened to beat them.
“They were saying Hinduon ki ladayi hai, humara saath dijiye, record mat kijiye, hum fass
jayenge,” Chatterjee said. This is the fight of Hindus, support us, and don’t record all this.
Otherwise you will be in trouble.
9.
Name: Shantasree Sarkar
Media House: Republic TV
She faced a hostile situation while reporting from Bhajanpura on Monday. Replying to
AdityaRajKaul, she wrote on twitter: Sir, I was reporting from Bhajanpura today. PRO CAA
Protesters happily chanted #JaiShriRam and pelted stones, bricks. They were attacking every
man wearing a skull cap. Is this the time to take sides and flare up the existing communal
fissures?
10.
Name: Anindya Chattopadhyay
Media House: Times of India
Among the journalists attacked, heckled and harassed was Anindya Chattopadhyay, a
photographer with the Times of India. He wrote about his ordeal in the newspaper. Stepping
out of the Maujpur metro station just past noon, he wrote, he was “taken by surprise when a

Hindu Sena member suddenly approached me offering to put tilak on my forehead saying it
would make my work ‘easier’. ‘You are also a Hindu, bhaiya. What is the harm?’ the man said.”
When Chattopadhyay tried to photograph a building that had been set on fire, a few men
wielding bamboo sticks and rods surrounded him. They tried to snatch his camera, but his
colleague, Sakshi Chand, stepped in, and the men went away.
But later, he wrote, a group of men followed him. A youth accosted him and said, “Bhai, tu
zyada uchhal raha hai. Tu Hindu hai ya Musalman?” Brother, you are acting very smart. Are you
a Hindu or a Muslim?
Chattopdhyay said they threatened to take off his pants so they could confirm if he was Hindu
or Muslim. Only after pleading with folded hands was he let go.
11.
Name: Soumya Pillai, Anvit Srivastava and Fareeha Ifthikar
Media House: Hindustan Times
They noted in a report that they were surrounded by a mob and chased by two bikers. “The
mob surrounded our car. We managed to break free but then two bikers from the mob chased
us. We escaped only after leaving the area,” Pillai said.
Srivastava, in the same report, stated that a mob threatened to thrash him unless he proved his
religious identity. “They asked me if I could show anything to prove if I am a Hindu. I offered
them my identity card but they insisted that I show them some religious thread, pendant or
tilak to substantiate my claim. When I could show none, they asked me why I didn’t sport a
tilak? They were armed with rods. They later let me go after some of their peers intervened and
checked my identity card,” he added.
12.
Name: Mariyam Alvi
Media House: NDTV

NDTV’s Mariyam Alvi was hit on her back. “Compared to my colleagues, what I experienced was
nothing. I got away scot-free,” said Mariyam Alvi, an NDTV reporter who was attacked at one of
the clash sites.
13.
Name: Sushil Manav
Media House: Freelancer, covering for Janchowk
Sushil Manav, a freelance journalist on coverage for website Janchowk, was stripped, identified,
forced to chant Hanuman Chalisa and beaten up with rods and ultimately let off after they
dropped their pants to reveal their identity as Hindus.
14.
Name: Sanchit Khanna
Media House: Hindustan Times
Place and Date; Deli, February 25, 2020
Hindustan Times photographer Sanchit Khanna had gone to cover the violence at Karawal
Nagar when his motorcycle was set ablaze by a group of unidentified rioters. A while later,
another group cornered him and deleted the pictures he had taken of the violence, threatened
and assaulted him.
“I was on the terrace of a building to cover the area and saw a group of men setting vegetable
carts and a car on fire. They headed towards the police post and started pouring petrol over the
parked vehicles there. Before I could react, I saw the vehicles, including my motorcycle, up in
flames,” said Khanna.
Despite this, Khanna continued to document the violence. Minutes later, he heard some men
running up the building. This group, of around four to five unarmed masked men, cornered
Khanna who was with photographers from other news publications.
“These people kept insisting that I show them the pictures that I had taken. One person was
yelling to others to confiscate my camera’s memory card,” he said.

“They threatened to smash my camera,” he said.
“While some of the people from the group kept abusing me and pulling me towards the crowd,
a senior member of the group asked me to show him my official identity card as well as my
documents. They took a picture of those and eventually let me go,” Khanna said.
Many other journalists reported heckling and problems during coverage. Devjyot Ghoshal,
Reuters was heckled. He wrote on Twitter:
"Eventually, as the violence continued, it got too hot to work, and we pulled out. We weren't
the only journalists to be cornered".
Others that reported this kind of problems include Adrija Bose of CNN News 18, who was also
heckled.

Analysis and Conclusion
As stated in the Introduction chapter, the recent spate of assaults on journalists in Delhi points
toward a sharp change of paradigm in the context of Right to Freedom of Expression and
Speech. Now a journalist covering an event/incident on ground is being apprehended by his/her
banner/brand and reacted upon much before he/she speaks (truth or whatever).
Not only this, journalists on ground are directed and forced to speak and write the version of
truth that his/her intimidator wants to get through. If it does not suit their version, journalists
are attacked, molested, shamed publicly.
The recent cases of assault on journalists in National Capital Territory of Delhi bear phenomenal
change in two fundamental dimensions: the nature of assault and the identity of assaulter. The
chronology of events as well as profile of assaulted journalists may be helpful to uncover some
bitter truths.
Phase 1: Not a co-incidence
A total of three journalists, all Muslims, were mistreated by the Police: one from Urdu Media,
another from a digital platform and third from BBC, an international media outlet. No
discrimination in terms of banner or organisation, as we could clearly see. This does not point
towards a clear case of identification based assault because the same fate was met by
journalists from Matrubhumi News too, both non-Muslims. This only proves a point that
journalists with Muslim identity are more vulnerable during coverage. There is nothing new in
this observation.
Another three cases where mob attacked journalists are from Zee News, ANI and Asianet News.
The mob here essentially comprised Jamia students and locals. Decoding assault on Zee News
and ANI by Jamia mob does not require much wisdom. It clearly relates to the partisan
character of these media outlets that have created a sense of hatred towards them in minority.
Polarisation in media is also not new. Media has gradually shifted sides during last few year
dates as per its ownership patterns and interests. This has not only resulted in the polarisation
of ground coverage but views too. It is not a co-incidence that Zee News, that boasts itself as
"Rashtravadi" (nationalist) news channel was targeted around Jamia. Republic has also
complained of attacks on its crew in Jamia. It also boasts itself of being nationalist. ANI holds a
business monopoly in syndicating visuals to electronic news channels and in the last six years, it
has been instrumental in spreading pro-establishment narrative among masses.

Deepak Chaurasia from News Nation and Sudheer Chaudhary from Zee had gone to cover
Shaheen Bagh but they were not allowed by the locals to enter inside. This was only due to the
partisan character of their platforms.
The partisan character of media results in the partisan character of assault. This phenomenon is
gaining traction inside Indian society now for long. That is why first phase of assaults were not a
co-incidence.
Phase 2: Outsourcing Violence
JNU is the center stage of this phase where larger narrative of "nationalism" (as floated by the
ruling regime) is operating behind attacks. As could be seen in the testimonies, assaulters
where a sloganeering "rightwing" mob including ABVP students who termed journalists as
"naxalwadi", "jihadi", etc. These journalists belonged to national media outlets like Aaj Tak,
Scroll.in, The Hindu, Newslaundry etc.
A number of testimonies from harassed scribes posted on Twitter the same night reported the
same sentence overheard in the mob: “Beat up NDTV guys if you see them.” This shows that
the "rightwing" mob present outside JNU on January 5, 2020 was acting solely on its partisan
perception that NDTV, Aaj Tak, Scroll, The Hindu etc. are "anti-national" media. Hence they
were stopped from doing their duty and Ayush Tiwari was forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" to
prove his "nationalism".
Again Zee News team was assaulted near Jamia which proves the point that partisan character
of media invites partisan assault.
But the fundamental departure from first phase of assaults became eventually clear on January
31, 2020 when several journalists were picked up and detained from Rajghat by Delhi Police,
although there was no confrontation on that site. People gathered there peacefully to pay
homage to Mahatma Gandhi but the police did not allow them to do so and picked each and
every journalist present there indiscriminately.
This proves an extra case of partisan perception and thus polarised assault on media by State
apparatus as well as "rightwing" mob. The icing on the cake is the violence outsourced (the
rightwing mob)!
Phase 3: The Experiment
The third phase of assaults when North-East Delhi was burning was a build-up and mix-up of
first two phases. Reality cannot be starker than this when not a single journalist was spared by

the mob that went on ground to cover violence. Bottom line was clear: prove your identity to
mob and speak what is dear to it.
Akash Napa of JK 24 News was shot at. NDTV crew was attacked. Firstpost, CNN News 18, The
Indian Express, Scroll, HT, India Today, Times Now, News X, Republic TV, TOI, Reuters, the
entire spectrum of national media outlets became vulnerable to a rioting mob. The weakest of
them, a freelancer Sushil Manav, covering for website Janchowk was not only ashamed but
forced to chant Hanuman Chaleesa twice and still beaten up.
This was a complete collapse: indiscriminate attack on the Press, not a co-incidence, with
outsourced violence and an all-out experiment in itself that needs to be seen in historical
perspective.
The Last Nail
Chronology of events and assault cases run side by side in this report. As could be seen from
February timeline, it came as a ray of hope when the High Court of Delhi presided by Justice
Murlidharan took cognizance of violent situation at midnight, opened the court for hearing and
directed the police to submit a report of compliance which should include information about
the injured victims and the treatments offered to them. Next morning during the hearing, court
directed the police to decide within 24 hours on filing cases related to the hate speeches made
by the four BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Abhay Verma. The
bench expressed "anguish" on the inability of Delhi Police to control the riots and its failure to
file FIRs against the BJP leaders for their hate speeches.
Unfortunately on the late night of 26 February, Justice S. Muralidhar who presided over the
bench, hearing the plea, was transferred to Punjab and Haryana High Court. This was the last
nail in the series of events that unfolded since CAA was passed by parliament. The
"experiment" came to its full and final.
Republic in Peril
Since last three months national discourse is centered on the controversial Citizenship
Amendment Act. CAA was passed by parliament without much debate in an aggressive manner.
It is true that CAA was passed by majority of parliamentarians that represent the current
government, but another face of reality should not be ignored: Among 91 Crore eligible voters
where just 67 per cent turned out to vote in 2019, BJP secured around 22 Crore votes which is
just one-fourth of the total eligible voters. Making an act on the basis of 25 per cent electorate
and ignoring rest 75 per cent is the root cause of opposition to CAA. BJP led regime has ignored
this crucial point. This is the failure of Legislature.

Coming to the Executive, we know that as per the Constitution of India, Prime Minister leads
the executive branch of Government of India in the capacity of head of Council of Ministers
accountable to it. In reality, we see that the whole executive branch has been centralised since
2014 where Council of Ministers has been reduced to irrelevance. This has been proved time
and again, more recently in Maharashtra where President Rule was invoked at midnight and
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in without the Union Cabinet meet. The constitutional obligation
of PM being accountable to Union Council of Ministers is a rare sight in this government that
proves the failure of Executive.
Media has been called the Fourth Estate of Republic. In recent times, we have witnessed a
complete partisan character of media owing to its ownership and business model. The coining
of new terms such as "Godi" (lapdog) media and "Rashtrawadi" media suggest a complete
polarisation among media outlets. This has created a perception polarisation among media
consumers who consume the information and news from "our" media and reject "their" media.
The polarisation of news landscape has resulted in identification of individual journalists from
their banners/brands. This identification either glorifies an individual journalist or vilifies it.
Here comes the polarised character of assault too. The assaults on journalists have increasingly
become some sort of "identity punishing", depending which group he/she is representing. This
we have shown in first two phases of assault in December and January. Whenever this sort of
assault takes place, the reaction inside the media fraternity is also divided on the same lines.
Never has been a single incident of assault in last few years when the whole fraternity spoke in
a single voice.
The natural result of this complicity and partisanship was what we witnessed in the last week of
February when no one was in the condition to prove his/her innocence and credentials in front
of a rioting mob, asking for identity proof. A scribe from a partisan media house was targeted
for the same cause whereas another scribe from a non-partisan outlet was targeted due to the
polarised perception. The reality and perception both stand polarised heavily. Journalists on
ground are paying price for it.
So, where is that Fourth Estate of Republic?
All the four pillars of democratic republic appear to have crumbled down in the light of what
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said on March 3, 2020:
"We cannot stop things from happening. We cannot give preventive reliefs. We feel a kind of
pressure on us. We can only deal with the situation after it occurs, the kind of pressure on us,
we can’t handle that. It’s like Court is responsible. We are reading newspapers; we know the
kinds of comments are made. Courts come on to the scene after the thing is done and courts
have not been able to prevent such a thing."

Annexure
CAAJ Statement condemning attacks on media-persons during
anti CAA-NRC protests in India
28 December 2019
New Delhi
As students and young people across India have taken to the streets to peacefully protest the
amendment to the Citizenship Act (CAA) and the manner in which the Narendra Modi
government intends putting together the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National
Population Register (NPR), police personnel have responded violently against media-persons
who have been reporting and recording audio-visual evidence of the agitations by the youth
across the country. The condemnable high-handed behaviour by the police is a clear attempt at
attempt at suppressing and censoring independent reportage.
The actions of those responsible for law and order – but who have been complicit with
particular state governments – represent a clear instance of “shooting the messenger.” It is
noteworthy that the worst attacks against both the protesters as well as media-persons have
taken place in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, in particular, Uttar Pradesh where
most deaths have taken place. In their insidious attempts to paint peaceful students as violent
destroyers of public property, police personnel have registered false cases against many of
them, including those belonging to the minority community. This explains the attempts by the
police to prevent journalists from performing their professional duties in an unbiased manner.
Media-persons working with international news organisations as well as those in news agencies
that are usually supportive of the government, have not been spared the heavy hand of the
police.
The actions of the police are in keeping with the intolerance displayed by the Modi government
over the last four and a half years. Not only has much of the media been reduced to advertising
agencies and public relations offices of the ruling regime, the small section of journalists that
are still willing to hold truth to power, and the news organisations employing them or
supporting them, have been financially squeezed and sought to be bludgeoned into submission.
Never since the days of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency that lasted 19 months between June 1975

and January 1977, has the right of the media to uphold the fundamental right to free
expression of each and every Indian citizen that has been enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) of the
Constitution, been sought to be so brutally put down as it is at present. Making matters worse,
the social media has been weaponised and converted into a propaganda tool for
disinformation, almost invariably favouring the ruling regime.
Every right-thinking person in the country must strongly condemn the police action against
media-persons and uphold their rights and responsibilities to report and record the truth as it is
unfolding on streets every day across the length and breadth of India. Otherwise, we should
stop describing ourselves as a democracy – that too, the world’s largest one – as attempts are
made by those in power to ruthlessly stifle dissenting voices in authoritarian, majoritarian and
Fascist ways.
Committee Against Assault on Journalists condemns police action upon journalists covering anti
CAA-NRC protests in all possible terms and urges the journalist fraternity to come out and
defend their Right to Freedom of Expression and Speech as enshrined in the Constitution of
India.
Anand Swaroop Verma
A K Lari
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
Rajesh Verma
Santosh Gupta
Shesh Narain Singh
(CAAJ Statement Committee)

List of nationwide cases of assault
Amidst the on-going nationwide protest against CAA-NRC several journalist were attacked,
intimidated and harassed by the police when they were doing the ground reporting. Ironically
most of them come from the minority Muslim community. It shows the bias against the certain
community from the state machinery. Several other photo and video journalists were also
harassed in these protests by the mobs and protesters. Continuous Internet shutdown by the
government in the major cities of the country is another attack on the journalists from barring
them to tell the truth and ground realities.
Here is the current list of the attacked journalists and first-person accounts of them.
1. Name: Shaheen Abdulla,
Media House: Maktoob Media
Place and Date: Delhi, 15th
December, 2019
On December 15th
, journalist Shaheen Abdulla, Associate Creative Editor of Maktoob, an
English digital news platform based in New Delhi, was attacked outside the Jamia Millia
Islamia campus by Delhi Police. The cops beat the journalist with lathis as he was reporting
the people’s massive protest against India’s recent Citizenship Amendment Act. He was
mercilessly beaten up by a group of ten cops. Later, Shaheen was taken to Holy Family
hospital, New Delhi.
"I was covering it for Maktoob Media, one of the organizations which I work for. I was
updating the news from there. And I was with the press delegation. We were all together
there. When I saw them trapped (the female students of Jamia Millia Islamia), I rushed
towards them. I knew them personally. I tried to help them to move to a safe place. When
the cops came running, I showed them my press card and told them that I am a journalist.
'Don't beat me up; I am not here for any kind of violence. I am just trying to help them for
medical attention’. But they started tapping me with their lathis on my legs. While I tried
explaining them with the ID in my hand, they kept beating me. Then we went to a safe
place, cops came in a group and they were like 'now you come out'. They tried to induce me
to follow their instruction. The girls protected me by shielding around. When girls started to
come in-front, cops started to come inside. And somehow they (cops) got a hand on me and
they pulled me outside," Shaheen said in a special interview with NDTV on December 16.1
1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fmejkPYl4w&feature=youtu.be

2. Name: Bushra Sheikh
Media House: BBC
December, 2019
Bushra Sheikh, a journalist with the BBC said as she was covering the students’ protest in
South Delhi, a male cop pulled her hair, hurled abuses and hit her with a baton. I came here
for BBC's coverage. The police took away my phone and broke it. A male cop pulled my hair.
They hit me with a baton and when I asked them for my phone, they hurled abuses at me2
.
Terming the assault as undemocratic, Indian Women’s Press Corp (IWPC) said, “We note
with concern and distress that this has now become a pattern to attack journalists
particularly women journalists to intimidate them.3
3. Name: Shariq Adeel Yousuf
Media House: Pal Pal News
December, 2019
Shariq Adeel Yousuf, a reporter with the YouTube channel Pal Pal News said first he took
the permission from the police to go inside the protest site at Jamia Millia University where
several other journalists were covering the protest. “After 20 minutes when I came back
outside, at a certain point few police men started abusing me and asking for my phone.
When I refused they started brutally beating on my hand by laathi. Then they broke my
phone by their boots and took my press card.”4
4. Name: Ujjwal Roy and Sarabjeet Singh
Media House: ANI (Asian News International)
December, 2019
Asian News International’s (ANI) reporter Ujjwal Roy and cameraperson Sarabjeet Singh
were assaulted while covering protests near Jamia Millia Islamia University’s Gate-1 on
December 16 in New Delhi. They are undergoing treatment at Holy Family hospital in
Okhla.5
2
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/citizenship-amendment-act-protest-jamia-millia-islamia-students-
journalist-attacked-delhi-police-1628500-2019-12-15
3
http://www.uniindia.com/iwpc-flays-attack-on-woman-bbc-journalist-by-delhi-police/india/news/1823445.html
4
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1779143385553735&id=100003742737506
5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daIZSdhVNRs

5. Name: Azaan Javaid
Media House: The Print
Place and Date: Srinagar, 17th
December, 2019
In his first-person account ThePrint’s Journalist Azaan Javaid said On Tuesday afternoon, I
and a couple of fellow journalists drove to Srinagar’s Islamia College of Science and
Commerce where we had heard a student protest was underway.
We wanted to speak to the students to find out what the protests were about, whether
they were related to the anti-citizenship law demonstrations that were happening across
campuses in the country.
Once we got there, we saw personnel of the J&K police and CRPF standing guard outside
the locked gate of the college. Stones were being thrown from inside the college towards
the main road where we were standing along with the security forces.
Sensing that we won’t be able to interact with the students, we decided to return. On our
way back, I saw Rashid Khan, Station House Officer of Srinagar’s Rainawari area, grab a
couple of youth who were walking on the main road — at some distance from the protest
site.
I, along with other journalists, began clicking pictures and videos of the incident. On seeing
this, Khan first threatened me and demanded that I stop using my phone. When I protested,
he snatched the phone.
Khan and Superintendent of Police Sajad Shah, who had been watching the commotion,
then questioned my press credentials and asked why I wasn’t wearing a press badge. I said
my badge was in my bag and showed them my card. I then demanded that the two return
my phone, to which SP Shah said I should visit his office to collect it.
When I protested the behaviour of the two officers, SP Shah began to abuse me. “Do
whatever you want,” he said, following it up with a string of abuses.
This was when the policemen on duty started hitting me. It was only after the intervention
of some journalists that I was let go. At some distance, I saw another colleague being
thrashed by Khan.6
6
https://theprint.in/india/abused-hit-phone-snatched-theprint-journalist-azaan-javaid-beaten-up-by-jk-
police/336760/?amp&__twitter_impression=true

6. Name: Dr. Aleemullah Khan
Media House: Qaumi Raftar
Place and Date: Lucknow, 18th
December, 2019
Founder editor of Urdu newspaper Qaumi Raftar, Dr. Aleemullah Khan was detained and
taken in custody for more than a day by the Lucknow police in Aliganj police station. In his
first-person account7
he wrote that SHO Fareed Ahmed called him mastermind of riots for
calling a peaceful protest against CAA in Lucknow and taken into custody. Even I wasn’t
allowed to ask for a blanket from my home in that cold night. They charged me under IT Act
153 and 67 and I got to know about this only after when I was taken to the court.
7. Names: Unknown
Media Houses: Unknown
Place and Date: Sambhal, 19th
December, 2019)
The protest in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal turned violent on 19th
December as protesters set
state transport buses on fire. Several media persons were also attacked during the protest
against the Citizenship Amendment Act.8
Press association of India issued a statement
mentioning this incident and said, The Association is anguished over such incidents and
demands speedy investigation to deter perpetrators of such crimes.9
8. Names: Mujeeb, Shabber, Aneesh and 5 others
Media Houses: Asianet News, Asianet News, News 18, MediaOne and TwentyFour News
Place and Date: Mangaluru, 20th
December, 2019
Eight Malayali media persons who were taken into custody on Friday morning by the
Mangaluru police were released after seven hours of detention. The media persons from
four prominent Malayalam news outlets — Asianet News, News 18, MediaOne and
TwentyFour News — were taken to the Karnataka-Kerala border and handed over to the
Kerala police.
The eight people, including a driver who worked with MediaOne, were detained from the
Wenlock hospital where they were covering the post-mortem of the two protesters who
died in the police firing in Mangaluru.
7
htts://www.newslaundry.com/2019/12/23/caa-nrc-lucknow-protest-police-atrocity-qaumi-raftar
8
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/anti-caa-protests-up-sambal-violence-1629632-2019-12-19
9
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/press-association-condemns-attack-on-journalists-during-
protests/articleshow/72919019.cms

Speaking to the media following their release, the detained media persons said that the
Karnataka police had treated them like ‘criminals.’ Though national media reporters and
Kannada media were covering the post mortem, only Malayalam media reporters were
detained. At the time they were detained, it was falsely reported by a few Karnataka outlets
and then by an English website Daijiworld reported that fake journalists who had tried to
enter Mangaluru with deadly weapons had been arrested.
Despite a few of the journalists having ID cards and accreditations issued by the Kerala
government, the reporters were kept in a police van for hours. The police did not even let
them drink water or eat food.
“We were one of the first few media persons to reach the hospital. Around 8.30 am, the
Mangaluru Police Commissioner asked us to leave the hospital premises. We went out and
then he asked for ID cards and accreditation, then we were detained. The MediaOne
reporter Shabber, cameraperson Aneesh and their driver were kept separately. The police
took away Sahbeer’s bluetooth headset. But Kannada media and national media were
allowed to report from the same place,” Mujeeb Rahman10
, an Asianet News reporter
said.11
Several prominent leaders including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Karnataka
AICC General secretary KC Venugopal condemned the detention. In a statement put out on
Facebook, Pinarayi said “I strongly condemn those who have been portraying media
reporters as violent and their news collection devices as weapons. It is a fascist attitude to
curb media freedom. Public dissent should only rise higher against this attitude.”
9. Name: Omar Rashid
Media House: The Hindu
Place and Date: Lucknow, 20th
December, 2019
Omar Rashid, a journalist with The Hindu said in his first-person account; Around 6:45 pm
on Friday evening, I was trying to grab a quick meal at a dhaba outside the Uttar Pradesh
BJP office, waiting to hear about a press conference to be held by the UP government a few
blocks away, when at least four men in plainclothes barged in. I was accompanied by Robin
Verma, a local activist and friend, and two others, both journalists. The men did not identify
10
https://twitter.com/dhanyarajendran/status/1207910272377094144
11
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/treated-criminals-kerala-journos-released-after-7-hours-detention-
mangaluru-114464

themselves and inquired about us using strong and aggressive language. They told me they
wanted to question me about something. At the very first instance, I revealed my identity as
a journalist and asked them what the matter was all about. However, they packed the two
of us, Robin Verma and me, into a police jeep, snatched my mobile phone and asked me to
not call or inform anyone or I would regret it. They refused to explain anything to me and
asked me to talk only when they asked.
They drove us to the Hazratganj police station a km away, where we were told a senior
police officer wanted to talk to us. We were then escorted to a room — it looked like a
cyber-cell — where within seconds of entering, cops, already stationed there, started
thrashing Robin with a thick leather belt and slapped him many times.
They locked the room and asked me to keep silent when I protested why I was brought
there. The policemen threatened me they would book me under 120B of the Indian Penal
Code if I didn't keep quiet and also said they had evidence to show I was part of the
arsonists who vandalized police property and engaged in violence during the protest against
the Citizenship Amendment Act. I again clarified that I am a journalist and showed them my
identity cards. One of them knew me as a journalist but that obviously was not considered.
They responded by abusing me and said I should keep my journalism to myself, in abusive
Hindi. My Kashmiri background was referred to several times and despite informing them
about my newspaper, they continued with their questions and threats. “You are a suspect,”
I was told and asked to shut up.
For the next few minutes, the policemen badly beat up Robin Verma. They made the same
charges against him. We were then packed into the rear seat of a police jeep and driven a
few km away to the Sultanpuri police outpost without being told anything.
Here too, we were taken into a tiny room and questioned. The cops repeatedly asked me
about the whereabouts of some “Kashmiris” and where I was hiding them. I replied to all
their questions in the negative as I had no clue why I was brought there in the first place. A
few minutes later, two policemen, of the rank of CO, came in.
I was told to stand up. The police officer, whose name I don't know, told me he would set
me right. He was wearing protective gear.
I was then taken to another room in the quarters of a constable, where I was also
photographed like a suspect.

The same cop, who threatened to put me in place, again asked me about the “Kashmiris”
and said he would tear out all my beard and thrash me if I didn't answer his questions as per
his liking. Since I didn't have my phone, I could not note down the long list of expletives
used against me. He left after some time and I was kept in the room till around 8:30 pm. I
was then called to the office of the Circle Officer of Hazratganj who questioned me for a few
more minutes. I was asked the same questions I was asked earlier: if I was a part of the
protest, if I knew certain individuals, especially Kashmiris and about my professional and
background. I informed them that I was indeed present during the protests, as a journalist
covering it. The CO asked me if I felt regret at the violence during the protests and refused
to believe me when I did. He also lectured me on the "hypocrisy" of Leftist ideology and
heavily criticised China and its clampdown on citizens.
By then, the information had reached the CMO.
The same cops who abused and intimidated me earlier now apologised to me and tried to
explain that I was picked up due to a “confusion.” This was despite the fact that I had
identified myself as a journalist from the very first moment. The police then let me off.12
10. Name: Ratandip Choudhury and NDTV Crew
Media House: NDTV
Place and Date: Guwahati, 11th
December, 2019
NDTV Crew attacked in Guwahati amid protests against CAB on 11th
December. Talking to
NDTV Ratandip Choudhury said “In the morning we seen the peaceful protests at the
secretariat by the students but until the evening we did see that some other outside
elements got inside the protesting crowd and it slowly turned in to a violent mob and
started vandalising public property. That’s when police actually used force. By that time
curfew enforced and we were coming back from the secretariat to our office. In that area at
one point mob tried to attack our vehicle. I got down from the vehicle and tried to explain
them that we are from media and we are reporting what is happening and we are reporting
your demands. But, it didn’t seem to me that the people inside the mob had any idea about
what the protest was all about. They were emotionally charged then they tried to
manhandle me, they broke the wind shield of the car but somehow we were able to
escape…”13
12
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-first-person-account-by-the-hindu-correspondent-omar-rashid-of-
how-he-was-picked-up-threatened-and-released-by-cops/article30361909.ece
13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGHN_Dfw1Y

11. Names: Arun Shankar and Vaishakh Jayapalan
Media House: Mathrubhumi News
Place and Date: New Delhi, 20th
December, 2019
News reporter Arun Shankar and Cameraman Vaishakh Jayapalan with Mathrubhumi News
were brutally attacked by the Delhi Police on 20th
December while they were covering the
protest. Both journalists sustained injuries in the attack and have been taken to a hospital.
The journalists were covering the massive anti-CAA stir at Delhi Gate in the national capital.
While they were capturing the police brutally beating up the protesters. At that time,
several policemen attacked the Mathrubhumi News crew from behind.14
Enraged that the journalists were capturing the visuals of their brutal attack on helpless
protesters, the police officers forcibly took away the video camera and destroyed it. Despite
sustaining injuries to his head, Vaishakh Jayapalan continued to capture the visuals of the
police brutality which was aired by Mathrubhumi News.15
Kerala Press Club in Delhi on Saturday condemned the alleged manhandling of journalists by
the police at the Delhi Gate during the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on
Friday evening. In a statement, the association said that the camera was snatched by police
because of the visuals that were captured in it. “It was done with the sole purpose of
suppressing the truth.”16
12. Name: Khurshid Misbahi
Media House: ETV Bharat
Place and Date: Meerut, 20th
December, 2019
14
https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/delhi-police-attack-mathrubhumi-journalist-cameraman-
destroy-camera-1.4378832
15
https://tv.mathrubhumi.com/en/news/india/caa-another-clash-in-delhi-attack-against-journalists-1.35120
16
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/anti-caa-protest-kerala-press-club-in-delhi-condemns-attack-on-
journalists/article30366279.ece

Khurshid Misbahi, a reporter with ETV Bharat was attacked by rioters in Meerut, UP. In his
first-person account he wrote in a Facebook post17
- “I am a reporter with ETV Bharat. On
20th
December, I was covering the riots in Meerut. When I was taking some visuals of
burning bikes and a police chowki then 3 to 4 rioters came and attacked me on my head by
iron rod and bricks. I have severe injuries on my head. They snatched my office mobile,
camera stick, microphone, ID and helmet.”
13. Names: Prakash Kumar and Dinesh Kumar
Media Houses: Republic TV and Dainik Bhaskar
Place and Date: Patna, 21st
December, 2019
Protesters in Patna turned violent during Bihar Bandh called by opposition parties against
CAA-NRC. They attacked media. Journalists ran into a building to save themselves. FIRs have
been lodged against unidentified persons by journalists Prakash Singh of Republic TV and
photojournalist Dinesh Kumar of Dainik Bhaskar, who have alleged that they were assaulted
by bandh supporters.18
A Congress leader Ashutosh Sharma has been arrested for attacks.
[Press Association of the India and Kerala Union of Working Journalists, mentioned three
other incidents of assault on journalists in two separate statements]
14. Name: Dinesh R and Wasim Sayeed
Media House: Asianet News
Place and date: Delhi, 16th
December, 2019
Two journalists – Dinesh R and Wasim Sayeed of Asianet News, a prominent Malayalam
news channel – were also attacked in the national capital during the coverage of the
protests by Jamia Milia Islamia students against the Citizenship Amendment Act.19
Wasim
Sayeed, video journalist, and Dinesh R, reporter, were injured. Mr. Wasim Sayeed was
seriously injured in stone-throwing and admitted to hospital.20
15. Name: Jaideep
December, 2019
17
https://www.facebook.com/khurshid.misbahi/posts/740775363076270
18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSsk9d6bOnc
19
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/press-association-condemns-attack-on-journalists-during-citizenship-
amendment-act-protests-2152558
20
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala-journalists-protest-against-police-
brutality/article30368384.ece

In the statement it said, an attempt was made to allegedly manhandle a video journalist of
Zee News, Jaideep. Camera of a news channel was damaged while another's was taken but
not returned as yet.21
16. In the statement with the Sambhal incident it is also mentioned that OB vans were torched
in Lucknow.
21
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/press-association-condemns-attack-on-journalists-during-citizenship-
amendment-act-protests-2152558

About CAAJ
Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ) is a collective of independent media and civil
society groups to defend press freedom and uphold the right to report without fear of
intimidation. CAAJ is not a traditional journalist welfare body as such, neither a trade union nor
a non-government organisation. Rather it is a process that is evolving since last couple of years
to intervene on the issue of assault on journalists through various ways like documentation,
research, seminars, lectures and active alliances.
CAAJ was introduced to the journalist fraternity first through a two-day national level
convention against assault on journalists in New Delhi that saw journalists from more than ten
states and families of some deceased journalists too. At this very first convention, CAAJ
released a booklet documenting assaults in Indian journalists during last ten years.
In the last one and a half years, CAAJ has organised three major meetings, one in Raipur, other
in Chandigarh on the need of Journalist Protection Act and the last one in Varanasi where
celebrated journalist P. Sainath delivered lecture on dangers of reporting to rural journalists.
CAAJ has continuously tracked cases of attacks on free voices and updated on its blog and social
media handles. During last one and a half years, CAAJ has recommended assistance to
assaulted scribes and networked with agencies that provide legal help to journalists in crisis.
CAAJ has also advised CPJ, Asia on various occasions regarding media freedom in India.
After the completion of one year of its national convention, CAAJ called upon various
stakeholders for stocktaking of the situation and future course of action in September 2019.
Representatives from Delhi NCR, UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar
attended the meeting. Representatives of IFWJ, Press Council, PIB Association, Kashi Patrakar
Sangh, many members from Press Club of India, senior writers, journalists and members of civil
society participated.
This meeting resulted in the expansion of alliances and process. Some interim sub-committees
were formed like Screening Committee, Statement Committee, Legal Team and Social Media
Committee. State co-ordinators were put in place.
The Apex sub-committee is the Statement Committee that includes senior and respected
journalist Anand Swaroop Verma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Shesh Narain Singh, A K Lari, Rajesh Verma
and Santosh Gupta.
CAAJ is in the process of bringing out an Annual Assault Report for 2019 very soon.

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